Build a Content Strategy That Lasts Long-Term

How often do you update your content strategy?

Remember when virtual appointments were the next big thing in healthcare? Or when “artificial intelligence” was something in a sci-fi movie?

Those times weren’t all that long ago. Things change quickly (and only seem to be speeding up). Your content marketing strategy must follow suit.

But how do you build a healthcare content strategy that balances today’s best practices with future-proof tactics? How do you develop a rock-solid plan that’s flexible enough to pivot when the time is right?

Learn how we build sustainable content strategies that serve our clients — and their readers — long-term.

How to create effective healthcare content

Let’s start with the basic elements of successful content marketing. Effective healthcare content is:

• Empathetic
• Reader-friendly
• Audience-centric

Why empathy matters

When someone experiences a new symptom, they often look online for information. Their online search can go one of two ways:

1. They find helpful, reassuring information that answers questions, calms fears, and empowers them to take control of their health.
2. They find scary or technical health information. They feel even more anxious and decide to end their search, thinking, “Maybe it’s better not knowing.”

Health issues are scary. It’s often easier for patients to put off getting care than to face their fears. Empathetic healthcare content can help override that fear and connect patients to the care they need.

The importance of plain language

Reader-friendly content also makes a difference in patient health outcomes.

9 out of 10 adults have difficulty understanding and using available health information. Challenges with health literacy and numeracy prevent patients from receiving needed care.

Writing in plain language makes health info accessible and actionable. Drop the jargon, break up long text, and focus on what’s important to readers. Speaking of which …

Know your reader

Effective healthcare content requires a deep understanding of your audience:

• What are they looking for?
• How are they feeling?
• What does the patient or buyer journey look like?
• What kind of info do they need at each stage?

Our recommendation? Develop personas and journey maps so you can create audience-centric content that supports consumers at each stage of the funnel.

As a result, your content will be primed to meet audience needs. (Our client, NeuroPace, is a shining example, with a 64% increase in inbound leads as a result of this work.)

How to develop a sustainable content strategy

Once the basics are down, start thinking about the long-term. What will help you continue producing effective content — even when resources are limited or inspiration is lacking?

Sustainable marketing strategies and systems are the answer.

Effective content distribution strategies in healthcare

If you think of a piece of content as only one piece, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

One piece of pillar content — like an ebook — can become several.

Repurposing existing content across platforms reduces the burden of content creation while helping you maintain an active presence everywhere. It also helps you drive home your key messages.

We often see content distribution and repurposing handled as an afterthought. (“I’ll write the blog now and the social media posts later.”) Instead, build your distribution plan right into your content strategy.

Stack activities while your brain is focused on one topic and piece of content.

1. Write the pillar piece.
2. Plan the initial distribution pieces.
3. Create those assets.
4. Schedule their publication.
5. Make a plan for repurposing the information later.
6. Create those repurposing pieces (if you’re extra ambitious).

Imagine how great it will feel to have these posts queued up in your scheduling tool, months from now. And the effect compounds when you put the time saved toward proactively planning even more content.

Bonus sustainable content strategy: Use AI for the right tasks

AI is often touted as a magic wand that makes content marketing more efficient. We don’t completely disagree. It has its place in a sustainable content marketing strategy when used correctly.

AI isn’t right for tasks that require creativity or expertise, like writing content or developing a content strategy. But it’s handy for:

• Research tasks, like digging for keyword gaps
• Basic content needs, like brainstorming ideas
• Info processing tasks, like summarizing meetings
• Simple content review tasks, like spell-checking

Understand how you can use AI for healthcare marketing and clearly define your organization’s policy for AI use. (Want to see an example AI policy? Here’s ours.)

Keep an eye on marketing trends

Building a sustainable marketing strategy isn’t only about:

• Following the best practices for effective content
• Developing systems to make content production more efficient

It’s also about keeping up with the times. What works in marketing today isn’t always what worked 5 years ago or what will work 5 years from now. Watch for trends and be open to adapting.

Look out for shifts in marketing. For example:

• SEO is changing: Traditional SEO is getting replaced with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). People aren’t only searching on search engines — they also use AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity to answer queries. Learn more about GEO and how to optimize your content for it.
• Social search is expanding: Similarly, your audience is more likely than ever to search for answers on social media platforms. Use keywords strategically in your posts and optimize your posts to show up on coveted “For You” pages.
• Video content isn’t going away: Videos are growing in popularity on all platforms (not just TikTok). It can also give your content an SEO boost and improve user engagement. (Want to include more video content in your healthcare marketing strategy? Learn how.)